Mission Joseph: Save Baby Jesus from wicked, genocidal king

The Holy Family (Wikimedia Commons)

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up!" he said. "Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him."

– The Gospel of Matthew 2:12,13

In the hauntingly surreal and thought-provoking film "The Objective," a multinational Special Forces team (the elite "392") journeys through the desolate, rugged mountains of Afghanistan on a supernatural mission against an other-worldly enemy they can barely begin to comprehend.

Consider the broad moral and strategic architecture of a similar mission carried out over 2,000 years ago. I call it, "Mission Joseph – Hard Target." Imagine just for a moment that you are Joseph, the humble carpenter of Nazareth. You are the earthly father of the Son of God, sent to save humanity from its collective sins. The fate of the planet, and of untold billions of men and women stretching many centuries into the future, depends on your ability to follow the directions of holy angels in order to escape the wicked, genocidal ambitions of King Herod.

This is the very first Christmas message, a crossing of the Rubicon moment for humanity that will echo into eternity.

Your mission is not a tour de force, but rather a finesse job that will tax your skills as a traveler, navigator, dream interpreter, fiancé, husband, merchant and spiritual leader.

You have been asked to take a unique woman named Mary on a long journey. The baby is not yours. This woman, your fiancée (and now wife), has not been with another man. Somehow you must find the faith to believe in her. You'll rely on the angelic realm and the Holy Spirit instead of artificial intelligence on this special quest.

Both shepherds and kings will visit you – the latter are remembered as "The Three Wise Men." A lesser-known ancillary cultural product surrounding the magi is Henry van Dyke's epically moving tale, "The Story of the Other Wise Man." The story can be read here. Van Dyke's work was brought to the Hollywood screen in 1985 in a little-known jewel starring Martin and Charlie Sheen. You can watch it here for free in its entirety.

The story (and film) center around "the fourth wise man," a wealthy man of note, power and influence who missed the Virgin Birth, spent his entire life searching for Baby Jesus – while selling all he owned in the process, before finally encountering a 33-year-old Christ being crucified on the cross. Perhaps many of us can identify in a deeper way with the fourth wise man as opposed to the traditional three kings of the Orient.

Treasured ancillary cultural products embodied by the 'Charlie Brown Christmas Special' are a staple of the holiday season

Mary is unlike any woman who has ever lived before or since. (She is venerated today by more than a billion Christians and a billion Islamic believers worldwide.) She is filled with all purity, humility and good works. There is something wonderful about her, so Joseph vows (to both God and Mary) to never to leave her side.

You (walking in the sandals of Joseph) have to register for a census with a pagan Roman Empire busy occupying and oppressing your people. Yet you must "render unto Caesar," as your unborn child will one day tell the world.

That foreign empire is represented by Herod, a child-murdering fanatic willing to carry out a holocaust against your child and all others like him. Yes, it is true you will have more children with this woman, but it is the first child who is most important.

You can't find a hospital or even a hotel for the delivery of the baby. So, you head for a stable, where little lambs, donkeys and a few camels provide warmth for the baby. You are not homeless. You work very hard as a carpenter. And this stable is the kind of building you might have constructed yourself.

Three kings, probably from Mesopotamia/Persia, arrive to pay homage to the little baby. They say they have been following a star of wonder and light. The kings give you gold and other precious commodities. These are the first Christmas gifts in human history. They are valuable because your family is going to need them to survive.

Into the shadow of the pyramids

That night, you have a dream. In the dream, an angel appears to you and warns that King Herod wants to murder your baby. The angel tells you to flee into the deserts of Egypt. History tells you this may well be clinically insane. Centuries before, the pharaoh had also engaged in a holocaust against the children of your own Jewish religion.

But go you must into the sands of Egypt, where you will camp with only uncertainty for comfort – in a place where your people were brutally treated as slaves. Yes, indeed, Jews were once slaves, just as white people like Spartacus were slaves in ancient Rome.

Of greater importance is the fact that mankind is a slave to sin. Across the oceans at the time of your mission, cannibals and heart-eaters dominate Africa, Central and South America. The world is in complete spiritual darkness.

But all of that is about to change – if you (Joseph) can complete your mission.

An angel appears to the three kings and instructs them not to visit Herod on their way back to their own homelands. They deploy to the East, and you to the South.

Herod will take the blood of Saint John the Baptist, but he will not touch one of the numbered hairs upon your son's head.

In Egypt, you care for your little son. You name him Jesus. He is the Christ. The Jewish rabbi awaited over many centuries. One enlightened Jew who will transform the world forever.

(Yemen photo by Anthony C. LoBaido)

For now, however, he is just a little baby. You use the gold given to you by the kings to organize a means of survival. You trade frankincense, grown from special plants found on the road between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, in various bartering for items your wife and child need. You continue to work hard, building various items for Egyptians who can plainly see your talent, courage and work ethic.

Your child begins to grow strong in the shadows of the pyramids, built (as noted) with the blood of your own people. A new era in human history is dawning. Moses, like your son, grew up in these same deserts. Moses was tested in the wilderness. He tended sheep before tending men. Moses learned to focus his anger against evil. Moses sought to deliver his people. Moses knew idolatry is in our DNA. Moses stared down the black magic in the pharaoh's court with white magic. Moses raised up a banner entitled "Jehovah Nissi!" which gave victory in battle. "God is our banner!"

Like Moses, your son will embody all of these physical and spiritual quests and many more. And like Moses, your son will emerge from the wilderness to lead your people and all of mankind on a new quest – with a new direction and a de facto set of laws rooted in goodness, trust, courage, faith and love.

Did this story really transpire? Did unsung Joseph complete his special forces mission? History answers with a resounding "yes!"

One expert on Joseph's mission is the brilliant archaeologist Jerry Vardaman. While conducting research at Mississippi State University, Dr. Vardaman chronicled the adventures of the holy family to eager audiences around the United States.

Writing to this author in a personal letter, Dr. Vardaman cited ancient Roman coins, the conjunction of Jupiter and other planets, (the "star" leading the three wise men) as well as the "Quirinius Census" as evidence that the Bible account of the Holy Family is indeed rooted in truth. Quirinius was governing in Syria at the time of the Virgin Birth. He's even mentioned in the ancient literary work "Res Gestae: The Deeds of Augustus."

Another famous historian of antiquity, Josephus, wrote, "Quirinius, a Roman senator who had gone through other magistracies, and had passed through them all until he had become consul, was appointed governor of Syria by Caesar and was given the task of assessing property there and in Judea."

Joseph was a man of trust, caring, faith, honor, courage and hard work. He could sleep in a stable with animals and still enjoy the counsel of kings. It is no wonder God and all of His angels chose this great man for the ultimate special forces mission. He evaded assassins and not only lived – but prospered – behind enemy lines. He did all of these things because he was not an "existentialist man." He was not an "economic man." He was simply "hero man."

Just as unsung Joseph completed his task, so too shall the reader complete the special adventures God has planned just for you. They are plans that eschew ease, comfort and pleasure, for God is far more interested in your spiritual growth and reaffirming your security in Him than He is in the comforts of the material world. Author Charles Stanley has often noted that, "Your trials will be profitable."

Postmodern ancillary cultural products

These days, those wielding cultural power are especially fond of attacking the Holy Family. Check out this skit on "Saturday Night Live" about a "very tired Mary." The three wise men are similarly debased by SNL here. The film "Office Christmas Party," starring two actors from SNL, features a Satanic character and enthronement that has to be seen to be believed. A chaotic SNL skit acts as a precursor to the film. Watch it here.

That said, our culture is still filled with more positive portrayals. "Flight of Faith" lifts the spirit with an aerial view of the life of Jesus in the Holy Land. This short video speculates on legends surrounding Jesus' time in Egypt as a child. "The Lost Years of Jesus" are investigated here. More words have been written about Jesus Christ than any person in human history – yet precious little is known about His childhood in Egypt.

Demi Moore's very pregnant character "Abby Quinn" battles Cartaphilus, Pilate's gatekeeper, in "The Seventh Sign." Her character is asked, "Will you die for Him (Jesus)?" As a basic tenant of Christianity, our God died for us, so we don't have to die for Him. Would you have died for Him to protect the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt from Herod's child-killing assassins, soldiers and mercenaries?

Today abortion ("health" for women and their unborn babies through summary execution) and fetal tissue fuel genetics, cloning, (perhaps) future patents on the human genome, as well as transhumanism or H+. There has actually been a push at the University of California at Berkeley to set up an abortion clinic on the campus. CBS details here how this clinic was unanimously approved by the student government. The taxpayers of California will most likely subsidize, if not foot the bill, over this very controversial issue dividing our nation since 1973. Pharaoh and Herod still reign.

The ruins of Ani, Armenia – the world's first Christian nation. Medieval mythology claims that Cartaphilus, Pilate's cursed gatekeeper, sought refuge in Armenia. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that Quirinius was an adviser to Caius in Armenia (Photo: Anthony C. LoBaido)

We live in an age of Matthew 24 – famine in Yemen, sandstorms, tsunamis, Fukushima, drought, pestilence and war. These are signs of the times. Illegal narcotics underpin the American and global financial system. Alcohol, AIDS, prescription drugs, gangs, drug cartels, racial hatred, idolatry, divorce, debt and Marxist universities combine to numb the joy of the daily life. Institutionalized dysfunction and the sanctification of abominations sadly lead ordinary people to butter their daily bread with delicious pain.

ISIS murders Christians, armed in part with the late Moammar Gadhafi's looted weapons, shipped to ISIS via the Benghazi annex – paid in full by the government of Saudi Arabia. In North Korea, Christians have been executed by steamrollers, this according to Melanie Fitzpatrick's salient journalism. These deranged, quasi-Satanic events are harbingers of Herod's assassins, who also echo through the millennia. Will the catacombs re-emerge for the non-harlot remnant church in the United States?

Consider how HBO's "The Leftovers" depicted a pretty teenaged girl (played adroitly by Margaret Qualley) setting the town's Nativity crèche on fire (in the fictional upstate Maplewood, New York), showing how those "Left Behind" will have to deal with the weak, the lost and those who have left God out of their hearts. What's so captivating about "The Leftovers" is that it's not centered on Christian eschatology via the Rapture, the Two Witnesses, the False Prophet, the Antichrist or the "End Times," as explained by Hal Lindsey. Rather, it's a look at what society would be like without any Christians. Dogs bite men. Before you know it, drunken mother might well be smashing the Charlie Brown Christmas Nativity of a preschooler while caught up in a vomit-laden rage.

A brilliant star. A brilliant child. The magi. Following in the footsteps of the three wise men means engaging in a great journey not unlike "The Other Wise Man." Before we can experience the wisdom, mission, power, grace, miracles, triumph and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we must first share in His abandonment, betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, brutality, slander, abuse, being spit upon, temptations from Satan in the desert, the crown of thorns and status as a prophet without honor in his (or her) own hometown.

And before we can stand before God Almighty with a spotless white garment, that garment will have to be washed and set on a spin cycle, placed in a tumble dryer, ironed and pressed. Many readers no doubt feel as though they are chained to an anvil, as God uses the storms of life to hammer out "the world, the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life." In other words, everything that is not of God.

This is the integral meaning of picking up your own cross. No matter how this world might try to convince us otherwise, this body is not our soul, and this world is not our home. Going to heaven is "the objective" we all should devote our hearts, minds, energies and souls toward. Faith informs the notion that our collective salvation is rooted in that stable in Bethlehem. May we make it into and out of Egypt (synonymous with bondage to sin), as did Joseph, the carpenter and earthly father of Jesus. The plain truth is that Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus were the ultimate "hard targets."

Looking back to 0 A.D. from 2017 A.D., we can resolutely say with confidence that "wise men (and women, and even children) still seek Him."

Related LoBaido column: "Wrapping up a meaningful Christmas."